Who gets killed on the road?

Originally posted on "Otterman speaks...", 02 Oct 2003. Updated and stats table appended.

According to the traffic statistics in the Singapore Police Force's Annual Report 2000/1, motorcyclists and their pillion riders are the single largest road user group involved in accidents - accounting for 46% of road fatalities in 2000/1 and 52% of people slightly or seriously injured. The sheer numbers make them a specific target group for road safety measures by the police. Trends point to peak hour accidents and younger riders.

But if you look at fatalities amongst all accidents for 2000/1, the fatality rate for all accidents is 2.1% (407/19,308). This is contributed largely by the fatalities by motorbikes and their pillion riders at 1.9% (187/10,029). Motorcar drivers and passengers are relatively safe at 1% (47/4,584). Cyclists on the other hand have a 3.9% (27/689) fatality in reported accidents and for pedestrians, its 6.1% (113/1,852)!

[Update} In 2002/3, there is an increase in fatalities from accidents in most groups including the two most vulnerable: 6.3% (0.2% increase) for pedestrians and pedal cyclists see the largest increase of 0.6% to 4.5% (see 2002/3 data below.

I am missing estimates for number of road users by user group. Considering the relatively small number of cyclists on the road, the 27 fatalities are high. But I can understand Traffic Police being more concerned, for now, about the 10,000+ injury-resulting accidents involving motorbikes.

"Vote for Pedal Power"

"Clearly, cycling's numerous benefits – social, health, environmental and economic – make it an important form of transport that planners and policy-makers sideline at their peril.

European cities are world leaders when it comes to accommodating bicycles on the road. Cities in Australia, Canada and the United States too, have been embracing bicycling. It would not be merely a coincidence that most of these cities rank consistently at the top of the Economist survey of the world's most "liveable" cities.

For Singapore to succeed in becoming a Renaissance City, we need to take a leaf from the books of these bicycle-friendly cities and reclaim our roads and public places from the malaise of motorised traffic."

Chin Yih Ling writes in Today, 17th January 2005 to "Vote for Pedal Power" [pdf].

Killing cyclists and cycling in Singapore

One of the WheelsAreTurning riders reported two accidents, one with a near fatality at least, last Sunday 19 Dec 2004, which he called a black day for cycling. He had looped back to offer help at one accident scene but was waved away, so one can hope the riders had things under control.

Now Mr Brown reports on the other accident and it sounds grim and the events leading to the incident almost unbelievable. [link/see update below]

Last month, a hit and run truck driver left a cyclist injured in the drain at the Sungei Kadut - Woodlands Road junction, heading towards the railway line. The driver of a passing bus ferrying Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve staff on their way to work stopped to offer help but was waved away by the rider's friend. The victim looked very bloody but hopefully recovered. The staff were talking about it hours later and told me about it.

Krish, one of the Buloh staff, told me he used used to cycle to work but gave it up after he deemed the route from Choa Chu Kang too dangerous. Likewise a Scandinavian friend, Morten Strange, also decided against cycling here. It's not because its hot or humid, its simply deadly.

When I read about bicycle accident statistics decreasing in Singapore, I wonder if it's simply because there are less cyclists - many have simply decided its too dangerous to cycle anymore?

See also Who gets killed.

Update on Sylvester Ang - The accident is reported in The Straits Times today. [pdf]

'A blue bus approached the group of riders from the opposite direction. A lorry was parked in front of the bus, so one of the cyclists signalled the bus driver to stop and not change lanes until the line of 40 cyclists had passed.

"But he showed me his middle finger and moved out of his lane." After the bus left its lane, the cyclists were forced to slow down and shift further to the left. "Some were squeezed onto the grass patch... we were forced to bunch up together." Some cyclists shouted at the driver to slow down, but in vain. Seconds later, a 'very loud' bang was heard.

'The bus hit Sylvester Ang and dragged him for about 7 m as it swerved back into its lane and stopped. Right after the accident, the bus driver was seen shaking his head and making calls on his cellphone. None of the passengers, believed to be tourists, got off the bus.'

'Police and the SCDF arrived about 15 minutes later and rescued Sylvester, using airbags to jack up the bus. He is now in intensive care, believed to have suffered severe head trauma, punctured lungs and multiple fractures to his lower limbs.'

First posted in Otterman speaks.

Make driving appear more dangerous to make it become safer

"Roads Gone Wild." By Tom McNichol, Wired 12(12): 108-110.

'The problem with current road designs are that driving and walking are assumed to be incompatible, and should be segregated. Traffic engineers adopt the idea that to increase traffic flow, just make roads wider - as roads became wider, roadside trees were cut down and other landscape elements removed. Road signs, rather than road architecture, enforced behavior.'

Pedestrians lost all their urban space.

"The strict segregation of cars and people turned out to have unintended consequences on towns and cities. Wide roads sliced through residential areas, dividing neighborhoods, discouraging pedestrian activity, and destroying the human scale of the urban environment."

Traffic engineer Hans Moderman suggests that most road signs are an addmission of failure. Imagine this - no street signs, no crosswalks, and no accidents. Driving shoud be made to seem more dangerous to make it safer.

The article discusses several case studies of intersections, road designs and experiemtns conducted in Europe that review the approach to traffic engineering, and thus urban design. Read "Roads Gone Wild".

It's good to know these are shared visions. But how long will it take to permeate the mindset locally?

Boston cyclist maps bike paths

"Cyclist pushes mapped bike paths." By Anthony Flint, Boston.com news, 15 Nov 2004.

"For drivers, Boston-area maps brim with detail -- one-way streets, highway entrance ramps, and in the case of MapQuest, the locations of Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants.

But what's often missing, avid bicyclist Bryce Nesbitt noticed, are features useful to those not behind the wheel: walkways, bike paths, T stations, shuttle bus stops, and pedestrian entrances to parks.

So Nesbitt, a volunteer for a Somerville physical fitness group, embarked on a self-styled crusade: to get mapmakers to show all those nondriving features correctly. " Read more...

Thanks to Paul Barter for the alert

Share the Road

I first saw this logo at the 3RVS CARES webpage. They were in meetings with their county commissioners and other officials with the aim of placing these share the road signs on "prominent city to country arteries that are frequented by both motorists and bicyclists." The signs do not designate a road as a bicycle route but instead alert motorists to the fact there is a good chance of encoutering cyclists and prepare the motorist for an encounter. The idea of bicycle lanes in Singapore has been raised and refuted a few times.

Perhaps "share the road" signs are a softer option to begin with. It will require a rexamination of the subject and prevent the same arguments from being drummed out thoughtlessly.

Well this first, then weekend cycling lanes next!

Bicycle route mapping project

Togoparts bike trails forum is always full of questions about how to get from A to B and how to avoid hazardous places. I for one have always wished there was a good bicycle map for Singapore, like there are for so many other cities around the world, such as London.


So a few cycling enthusiasts here in Singapore have been discussing the idea of mapping routes here in order to create our own map! We have come up with some preliminary drafts to share. NOW WE WANT YOUR HELP. You will also see lots of question marks on the draft maps. We want feedback from all you cyclists out there. Are these useful. Are they correct? The routes are colour coded according to our rough assessment of stress level/danger level. Do you agree with our assessments? Do you know of other short cuts that we have not marked? Do you want to help create more similar maps?


Here are the maps we have so far and a very rough legend. We hope to gradually expand on these and improve them, with your help. Just click this link to view the sketch maps of the Clementi, Kent Ridge, Holland, Alexandra, Newton and River Valley areas.


WARNING: These are REALLY rough and they are not tested. They are rough drafts lah! If you use them then please be careful. Use at your own risk! Let us know about any problems you find.


Update (2008) - Bikely.com for cycling routes.